Determinants of Father Involvement With Young Children: Evidence From the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort

The current study used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B; Snow et al., 2007) to explore determinants of resident father involvement. Families (N = 2,900) were measured at 3 time points (9 months, 2 years, and 4 years of age). Father, mother, and child factors were...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of family psychology 2016-02, Vol.30 (1), p.135-146
Main Authors: Planalp, Elizabeth M., Braungart-Rieker, Julia M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Caregivers
Caregivers - psychology
Caregivers - statistics & numerical data
Childbirth & labor
Childhood
Childhood Development
Children
Depression - epidemiology
Family Conflict - psychology
Father Child Relations
Fathers
Fathers - psychology
Fathers - statistics & numerical data
Female
Girls
Human
Humans
Identification (Psychology)
Infant
Involvement
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Marital Conflict
Marital relations
Mental depression
Mother-child relations
Mothers
Mothers - psychology
Mothers - statistics & numerical data
Parent-child relations
Personality
Play and Playthings - psychology
Role
Sex Factors
Young Adult
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Summary:The current study used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B; Snow et al., 2007) to explore determinants of resident father involvement. Families (N = 2,900) were measured at 3 time points (9 months, 2 years, and 4 years of age). Father, mother, and child factors were examined in relation to father caregiving and play. Latent change score models indicated that fathers engaged in more caregiving and play behaviors and increased at a faster rate when they more strongly identified with their role as a father. Fathers engaged in more caregiving when mothers reported higher depressive symptoms and increased in play more slowly when marital conflict was higher. In addition, a Mother Depressive Symptoms × Marital Conflict interaction emerged indicating that fathers differed in their levels of caregiving depending on mothers' report of depressive symptoms, but only when marital conflict was low. Fathers also increased in caregiving at a faster rate with girls than boys. A comprehensive framework for examining resident father involvement is presented.
ISSN:0893-3200
1939-1293
DOI:10.1037/fam0000156